Mideast: Israel confirms, next week Netanyahu-Fayyad talks

First meeting in many months, no resumption of negotiations

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, APRIL 11 - Today the press office of
the Israeli government confirmed next week's meeting between
Premier Benyamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart Salam
Fayyad, the first high-level meeting in the region in many
months. Fayyad will lead a small delegation of the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA). The meeting will reportedly be held in
Jerusalem on April 17. Earlier Palestinian sources announced
that talks would be held next week. Later the news was confirmed
to Italian reporters by Nemer Hammad, advisor of PNA President
Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas), on the sidelines of the visit by
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to the Middle East.
The meeting, as both sources underline, does not mean that
the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are resumed. These
negotiations came to a halt three years ago when the
(nationalist) Netanyahu government took office, despite
encouragements by the Quartet (US, Russia, EU and UN) and
despite attempts made by the US and Jordan to mediate via
indirect talks. Fayyad, according to the announcement, will
present the content of a letter written by Abu Mazen to
Netanyahu. The letter contains a request from Palestinian side
to stop the further expansion of Israeli settlements in the West
bank and East Jerusalem and to recognise the 1967 borders as
basis to start talking again, before any attempts to resume the
negotiations.
So far the Netanyahu government has rejected these
conditions, but the PNA refuses to talks before these conditions
are met. Abu Mazen has announced - repeated by Monti - that the
PNA will continue its autonomous steps towards a recognitions of
the Palestinian State within 1967 borders by the UN and other
international institutions if it does not receive a positive
reply from Netanyahu ''within one month''. The PNA will continue
on this road despite Israeli accusations of ''unilateralism''
and criticism from the U.S.(ANSAmed).